Dynamo’s Jamaican contingent grows with pick of Johnson

Jason Johnson shakes hands with commissioner Don Garber after being selected by the Houston Dynamo as the 13th overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. (Joe Robbins / Getty Images)

Photo By Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Jason Johnson speaks to the crowd after being selected by the Houston Dynamo as the 13th overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. (Joe Robbins / Getty Images)

The Dynamo selected Jason Johnson, a Jamaican national team forward who starred at VCU. (Courtesey VCU)

Heading into the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear didn't expect to have a chance to take Jason Johnson, a forward from Virginia Commonwealth.

"When you look at his status being a Generation Adidas and showing what he's done in college, we didn't expect him to be around at No. 13," Kinnear said. "When his name became available, we thought it was a person obviously with pace and power. His ability to dribble and drive past guys was something we couldn't pass up. I think it would be silly for us to pass up on him."

Generation Adidas prospects are paid by MLS through a sponsorship deal with Adidas, and their salaries do not count against a team's salary cap.

Johnson chuckled when asked if he was surprised to have fallen to No. 13, but he definitely didn't expect the Dynamo to pick him.

"Mostly I was a bit surprised by the Dynamo at first," the 23-year-old Johnson said. "I didn't really have a meeting with them at the combine, so I didn't think they had me as one of their players in mind. I'm surprised, but at the same time I'm really happy, excited."

The 2012 Atlantic-10 Offensive Player of the Year, Johnson had 11 goals and six assists as a junior in his final season at Virginia Commonwealth. He also scored 11 goals as a sophomore in 2011.

After also spending time as a member of Jamaica's U-23 national team during CONCACAF qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, Johnson will join a Dynamo team with a bit of a Jamaican flair, considering Reggae Boyz Jermaine Taylor, Je-Vaughn Watson and Omar Cummings are on the team.

"There were five guys that we thought might be available around 13," Kinnear said. "We tried to move up more than a couple of times to get some players. That didn't work out. With the other Jamaicans that we have, he's going to feel really comfortable and right at home."

Johnson credits Cummings, who was acquired via trade in late December, with advising him in the past. They met when Johnson earned his only cap with the senior Jamaican national team in February 2010.